Horizontal and vertical movements of phlebotomine sandflies in a Panamanian rain forest.

A study of horizontal and vertical movements of phlebotomine sandflies in tropical forest was conducted by means of the mark-release-recapture method utilizing fluorescent pigments. Approximately 20,000 flies were marked and released at ground level and on a canopy platform (30 m high). The median recapture rate of marked flies was 8.6% in the ground release and 1.8% in the canopy release. Analysis of data demonstrated the tendency of flies to remain localized; approximately 90% of marked specimens were captured within a radius of 57 m. The maximum radius of the experimental area was 200 m and 4 marked flies flew to this distance, 1 of them within 1 day after release. The canopy fly population was dominated by Lutzomyia trapidoi (Fairchild & Hertig). This species moved upward at dusk from a number of diurnal resting sites, mainly the forest leaf-litter and the lower parts of tree trunks.